


The Idea of Moving On

by Meiwks



Category: Dimension 20, Fantasy High
Genre: AU, Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Rejection, dimension 20 - Freeform, i don’t write fics a lot, idk man, overexplaining shit, timeline is really weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:06:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22359958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meiwks/pseuds/Meiwks
Summary: After a failed confession to his best friend, Riz learns how to move on.Fabian does not.
Relationships: Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster
Comments: 7
Kudos: 63





	The Idea of Moving On

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy ya’ll! Before you read this please keep in mind it may over explain things a bit, and I avoided using ‘The Ball’! The reasons for this was because this was originally handed in as an English assignment (ik, wild), and I just decided I’d post it on the side. I do realize there’s a few errors oops lol! Also this doesn’t fit into the timeline at all really, so it’s in its own separate universe.
> 
> I was also only allowed to have 4 side characters and 1 main character, so that’s why unfortunately I didn’t get to write any Fig or Gorgug!
> 
> I almost never write fanfics and idk how to format but,,  
> Please enjoy this!

“I love you.”  
Those three words hung heavy in the air for a brief moment of silence, before a nervous rambling began to fill in the gap. “I mean like- you're super cool, and good at stuff and so confident and I uh- well I just thought, even if I know you don't feel the same way, since we’re friends I thought you should know. Keeping a secret from you seems even weirder than this, so..” the confession, pouring out like a fountain from the goblins lips, were seemingly falling on deaf ears for the moment. The boy looked so incredibly nervous however, that from the looks of it, Fabian was pretty sure if he didnt say anything he would end up watching his best friend have a panic attack. So thinking of his words carefully, (something he almost never did,) he began to speak.

“Riz-” He started off, stopping himself from using the dorky nickname he usually used.“I- you know I can't…” Fabian knew how this sounded. He wasn't a fool. He knew when he softened his voice like this it just solidified rejection, made him sound apologetic and awkward.. But it was inevitable. Seemingly, Riz picked up on his tone, because a look of rejection flashed across his face before he replaced it with a smile. it was maybe a bit too wide to be real, showing off each and every pointed tooth. “Fabian, seriously dude- it’s fine, I'm okay. You don't need to justify it. I get it, you're popular and cool, I’'m not- I expected this.” Maybe through anyone elses eyes, this would have seemed believable, but Fabian was Rizs best friend. He could see straight through him. He noticed the tremble in his voice, and how fake that smile looked compared to one of his usual, happy ones. It made him feel even worse that the only part seemingly not a lie was that he expected this. But something about the pleading in his yellow eyes made Fabian resist the urge to push it. And as he was thinking this through, he came to a realization. Despite being such good friends with Riz... Fabian used to deny their friendship a lot. In fact, Fabian hadn't properly even told Riz he thought of him as a friend, even if he figured it was implied. 

Even though it wasn't the same, he had a confession too. “I-I just want you to know that... Even if I don't think of you that way… I consider you my best friend and I care about you. You’re important to me, Riz.” Eyes focused nervously on Riz, he started to notice his smile soften a little bit. “Yeah.. Thanks.” Fabian reached a hand out to ruffle his soft hair, knocking off his dorky newsboy style hat, and they went off on their own ways. The ride home that day felt incredibly long.

Despite one failed rejection, the other made a lasting mark on their relationship, making their friendship stronger as a whole. There was a lasing fear, throughout the weekend, that things would be awkward the next time they talked- but when he arrived back at school Monday, things fell right back into place. They were even closer than before, and although he felt guilty admitting it, Fabians ego was boosted a bit by the whole situation. That was a good year for them. Riz became a little more relaxed it seemed, and they even allowed the whole crush situation to dilute into jokes and quips they made with each other. That year, they were happy. Things had a way of coming together nicely when they were together, with no shortage of adventures awaiting them. They did go to an adventuring academy after all. 

Things didn't start getting weird until the year after, where Fabian started to notice subtle changes going on. The first time he started to notice things being different, it was when they were in the hallway, walking together since Riz didn't have much to do at the moment. Besides, Fabian had a great story about his plays at bloodrush practice earlier that week that he was dying to talk about. That was how their friendship worked a lot of the time. Fabian allowed Riz to ramble on about his theories on his own (and mostly his mothers) cases, and Riz would listen to Fabian talk about sports, or his cool pirate dad. They listened to each other and cracked jokes wherever they see fit. So when Fabian made a comment on how someone on the team practically face planted directly into the ground, he was expecting a laugh. Looking over at Riz, however, he didn't even look like he was paying attention. He instead was staring over towards the other end of the hall. “Riz..? Hello??” waving his hand in front of Riz’s face, he watched him jump. “Ah-! Oh yeah sorry- I zoned out, I just have this.. Theory.. On a thing.” That wasn't a completely abnormal claim, when Riz found an interesting case he could worm his way into, he would. Then he would spiral, stop sleeping and pull out the board, pins and strings. The way Rizs eyes flickered off to the side when they spoke however, and the way his green skin reddened at the cheeks like a christmas decoration, made Fabian believe otherwise. Following his eyes, he noticed what he was looking at.

Just by the lockers, having a conversation with some elf, was a tiefling boy Fabian hadn't seen before. His skin was a soft lavender, horns curling around so the points rested on level with his eyes, framing his face like a picture. A few pieces of jewelry decorated the horns, something not uncommon for tiefling folk. His hair was short and swept over to one side, darker purple and wavy, covering one of his ruby red eyes. His shoulders were back, and clothes of many different colours and styles draped over him in a unique, foriegn sort of way. “...Do you know that boy?” Fabian asked, looking down at Rizs smaller frame. Riz seemed to blush harder at his words, starting to walk again. “No- I uh- why did we stop walking? Your locker is over there, don't you need to grab your things??” He quite clearly tried to change the subject, and something felt oddly sunken within Fabian. He just wasn't sure what.

The rest of the day went by pretty normally, if not for Riz being a bit more on edge. Fabian was a bit more distracted than usual however, and it seemingly showed when Adaine Aberant- wizard and close friend of Fabians- pulled him off to the side during lunch. Adaine was smart. In fact her and Riz were probably the only smart ones in their friend group. They kept everyone leveled, which was hard to do when most of your party was chaotically jumping into situations without thinking. She was shorter than Fabian, but taller than Riz- which was easy, as Riz was a goblin, but nevertheless. Her hair was short and nearly a bob around her face, and she wore an enchanted jean jacket with a million pockets and a fuzzy texture inside. On her shoulder sat her familiar, a small, round, emotional support frog named Boggy. It helped with her anxiety, which luckily has been getting better. She turned to Fabian, while the others were distracted with some weird, unprecedented eating contest that they were forcing each other into. 

“Fabian, are you… good? You've been acting a bit… off, and I just wanted to make sure you're okay.” her voice was sweet, accented, and full of genuine concern for him, he could tell. “Im fine I’m fine- just feel a bit off it’s- I’ll be fine.”  
“Are you sure? Did something happen?” And as she spoke, she picked Boggy up off her shoulder.  
“You can hold Boggy if you’d like.” It took Fabian a while to think of a good response, because to be entirely honest, he wasn't sure what was wrong. “I just…” taking boggy into his hands, he looked down at him thoughtfully. The presence was calming. “I was walking with Riz earlier today and I was telling him an amazing story- but he wasn't really listening I guess?” Adaine nodded softly. “Fabian you know Riz, he can get lost in his own mind..” she reminded him. “Right, I know, but he wasn't… he was looking at someone. Some new tiefling.. And when I asked he said he didn't know him, yet he seemed way more focused on him than anything going on. If he had a case with this kid he would tell me though, it doesn't make sense for him not to… unless he's hiding something from me, but he never hides things from me, we’re best friends.” Adaine seemed to pause at that, thinking over what she’d been told.

“Are you sure you're not just.. Jealous?” Jealous…? What a horrible word. Why would Fabian Seacaster, bloodrush captain, son of famous pirate Bill Seacaster, ever have to be jealous? And over some strange boy his best friend looked at once? “Adaine, I’m Fabian Seacaster. I have no reason to be jealous.” He assured her. “I’m not saying you think they're better than you or something, it's just.. You're used to getting all of Riz’s attention, and maybe you don't like… sharing. You do seem a bit dramatic and attention heavy.” It seemed like she was trying to be nice, but it did hurt just a bit to hear. “I’m not jealous for Riz’s attention, he can look at whoever he wants. If anyone was desperate for attention, it would be him, for mine.” he insisted. “...Why? I mean you spend almost every day together, I think you give him enough attention as is. He doesn't seem to be worried when you aren't paying attention to his stories. It might be a bit selfish for you to expect him to just be there whenever you need him.” Fabian wasn't sure how to respond. It was a hard truth. Riz used to treat him like some sort of celebrity.. Which was nice, and the support was great to have, but not a great friendship dynamic. After the confessions… Riz wasn't like that anymore. They were mutual. On the same page, supporting each other just as much, knocking each other down a few pegs when it was needed. Maybe Fabian had a bit of trouble disconnecting Riz from the boy so desperate for his attention. Suddenly, a lot of things were flooding his mind. 

“I’m.. being selfish.” he nodded softly, patting Boggy on the head as his flamboyance seemed to calm down. Adaine put a hand on Fabians shoulder and gave a soft smile. “And hey, if it turns out you're jealous over his new crush for more than just friendship reasons, I’m here to talk, and I won't say a word to anyone.” and with that, she turned to sit back town at the table, just as Fabian turned red. “Hey wait I didn’t say-” There he was interrupted with a grinning goblin boy, tired looking but seemingly happy, calling him over. “Fabian! Check it out!” he called out, gesturing to the empty trays in front of him. “ How does someone so small eat so much so quickly…?” Kristen complained, a half eaten blob of creamed corn on the plate in front of her. Fabian avoided Adaine’s eyes as he sat back down. “Riz is an unstoppable force of hunger- he just kinda… “ He did a bad impression of Rizs weird animal noises he made when he ate way too quickly- like a possum, and the group fell back into their jokes and teasing.

Late into the night, as the skies were painted over with an ever darkening blue, Fabian laid in bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling he couldn't see, but knew was there. Thoughts echoed around his mind, provoking nervous trains of thought to arise without warning. Adaine wasn't the type to be teasing him for no reason. Kristen? Totally. But Adaine, no. Did it seem like he liked Riz? Why would it seem that way? Was he really just jealous? Thinking about it reasonably, Fabian was probably out of Riz’s league. Fabian was a half elf, tall, strong and attractive. Riz meanwhile, was a short goblin with knives for teeth and permanent bags hanging heavy under his eyes. He wasn't conventionally attractive, and he wasn't well liked. He didn't understand social cues, and was always trying to make connections between the tiniest details of things. Fabian reached to his neck, and untucked his half of a best friend necklace he got as an early christmas present earlier in the year, running his fingers over the engraved letters in thought. Maybe… maybe he didn't need to be conventionally attractive. Maybe the way his eyes lit up when he solved something was cute to Fabian, and maybe his laugh was intoxicating. Maybe Riz was just so amazing that he didn't need to be super big or hot or popular for Fabian to like him.

Oh god, Fabian liked him.

The rest of the night didn't come any easier. Accepting it just made him stress even more. Because now that he came to that conclusion, as soon as it became real, that's when it became a threat. Living in denial is easy, but living knowing what will happen is out of your control is terrifying. Maybe Fabian could just confess, and Riz would be interested and things would be fine… or maybe, Fabian would confess, and Riz would put on that apologetic tone, suddenly telling Fabian that he was no longer in love with him, and that he was dating that tiefling boy from the hall. Maybe he was bored of Fabians over the top personality. Maybe, worst of all, he’ll be upset Fabian rejected him earlier, and things will get weird between them. Would they need to hang out with different friend groups? Would Fabian be cast aside? So many questions, and no answers. Only an overthinking teen adventurer, with only half the confidence his father had, and none of the legacy.

The next day, it became obvious to Fabian that realizing your crush on someone makes you overthink and overanalyze anything they do. Because suddenly, instead of seeing Riz walking over and approaching him as a dorky best friend, Fabian sees a cute, possible love interest that may or may not like him. He suddenly notices the way Riz smiles when he sees him, and how wonderfully genuine that smile is. Suddenly, his face feels hot, and he keeps thinking about what would happen if Riz noticed. Luckily- or perhaps unluckily, along the way to come and approach him, Riz stopped and held up a finger to let him know he’ll be one second. And then, tragically, Riz started talking to the blue skinned boy from before. And he speaks, and then he laughs, and then he plays with his hair, seemingly unaware of the fact. Suddenly, watching Riz felt like a bad idea. He decided to busy himself by going to class early.

Things somehow got even worse at lunch. As he sat down, thinking he was finished overthinking everything, his friends all came to the table to prove him wrong, Riz, seemingly after speaking the tiefling a little longer, waved goodbye and came over to the table. Then, Kristen did was she does best, and teased him. “Who’s that..? A new boyfriend..?” She stretched out the word, and a bad taste was left in Fabians mouth as he watched Riz blush in response. “You mean Cyrus..? He’s- we’re just friends, for now.” “For now…? Does that mean there's a possibility for a someday..?” Fabian was just about at his limit. Butting in a little, he rather stubbornly said “I don't think there should be.. I don't trust him. Something about him feels off.” He did his best to ignore the look he was getting from Adaine. Sort of an ‘I told you so” about it, mostly just sympathy. “You’re just worried he's hotter than you.” Kristen retorted with a laugh. Fabians laugh was much more forced. “Please, there's no comparison.” the rest of lunch went similarly, until Riz rather uncomfortably looking, said a bit about how nice Cyrus was and all that. Fabian, on his pedestal, made some backhanded comments about the boy being some sort of incubus, or maybe using some sort of charm spell. The table was awkward and silent for a few moments, the ice only being broken by Adaine clearing her throat to discuss some new spell she learned. She didn't draw attention to it, but as she spoke, Boggy hopped across the table and sat between Fabian and Riz. They seemingly both needed that.

Things were a little tense between the two for the next few weeks. It was the closest thing to a fight they'd had yet, and it was miserable. It seemingly rubbed off on everyone at lunch, so Fabian started spending lunches on the field training with a few guys from the team. The days passed, but as an adventuring party, you couldn't just avoid 1/6th of your party that easily, when everything you do is together. Especially when its exam week, and exams at Augeforts result in death for quite a few students.

The first challenge involved trust. One after another, in pairs of two, one partner would go through a maze blindfolded, guided by their partner. The maze also happened to have no walls, just a floor that was above a lot of water, filled with some sort of monster. There was a room over to the side where the second partner could watch. Looking at his party, it became more and more clear he would have to be paired with Riz. They both sucked it up, and got together to discuss what their strategy would be. “I’ll go first and get it over with. Maybe we could tie some sort of rope, or something?” they listed off a few options, but they spent so long talking that they didn't bring anything in at all. 

As Riz walked, Fabian was careful with his instructions. “Small step to.. Well its my right, your left.. Two more.. “ the steps were simplistic, and although they should've been focused on the task, Fabian couldn't help but every so often ask a question out of the blue. “So how's it going with Cyrus…? Step straight two more times..” “Do you actually care? Or are you just asking because you want to shove it in my face?” Confused, Fabian continued. “Of course I care, I just... I acted a bit out of line before, and I’m sorry. What do you mean shove it in your face..?” “He has a-” “One more step” “Alright- he has a girlfriend. Found that out when he invited me out for ice cream and I third wheeled the entire time.” Fabian fell silent for a moment, before Riz called up to him with a reminder.. “I still need to know where to go, I’m blindfolded.” “Right sorry- left twice, and… well I’m sorry about Cyrus, you didn't deserve me talking about a guy you liked like that either way, and I’m sorry. If you want to talk after this it's fine- now jump.” Riz paused. “...Jump? What do you mean jump?” “There's a gap. Just take a leap and you can make it. Easy peasy.” He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “...You're serious right?” “You trust me, don't you?” and with that said, Riz took a few careful steps back and leaped as far as he could. He overshot it a bit, but it was the end, so it truly didn't matter. Fabian came down to meet him, looking at his friend panting, hand to his chest. Before he took the blindfold off, Fabian knelt down beside him and took his hand. “...There's actually one more part I need you to trust me on.” Fabian told him quietly, reaching a hand up to cup his face. “I’m sorry for being stupid and jealous, and I understand you might need time to get over the Cyrus situation, but… I may have been wrong last year. When I said I didn't like you back. He confessed, and leaning on softly, he allowed Riz to close the gap between their lips. Riz pulled the blindfold off, looking up at Fabian with a big grin on his face. “...I forgive you. Now help me up so we can trade.”

**Author's Note:**

> This has taught me how hard these characters are to write so I’m retiring lmao
> 
> Hopefully it wasn’t too annoying to read, I had to fit it into 5 pages for the assignment so a lot of paragraphs are a bit too long !


End file.
